The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry has reported that people are filing claims with stolen identities for Pennsylvania Unemployment Assistance.

The PUA Program is administered by the DLI as part of the federal stimulus and is intended to benefit workers who have lost their jobs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Attorney General Shapiro and U.S. Attorney McSwain announced that federal and state law enforcement will aggressively pursue and prosecute anyone perpetrating this type of fraud.

“Scammers are working overtime during this crisis and trying to take advantage of the nearly 1 in 3 Pennsylvanians who have lost a job. We will not let anyone rip off the public and the millions who are out of work,” said Attorney General Shapiro.

According to the DLI, in one version of the fraud, the thieves use stolen identities of employed people to file claims for PUA, but direct that the money be sent to the fraudsters’ own bank accounts. Since discovering this scheme, DLI has taken steps to route PUA funds to the individuals named in the applications in order to prevent the thieves from receiving the stolen funds. As a result, victims of identity theft may only learn that their personal identifying information was stolen when they improperly receive a Pennsylvania unemployment compensation check, or a direct deposit of unemployment benefits, for which they never applied.

If any Pennsylvanian believes they have been a victim of this type of fraud or identity theft, Shapiro and McSwain provided the following guidance:

If you receive a paper check for unemployment benefits in the mail but did not file for such benefits in Pennsylvania, do not cash the check.

Likewise, if you receive a direct deposit for unemployment benefits but did not file for such benefits in Pennsylvania, do not use the funds. The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry website contains detailed instructions for returning the money.

In addition, it is important that victims report suspected identity theft to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry. A form is available on the Department’s website: dli.pa.gov. Identity theft and fraud can also be reported to the Department using its Fraud Hotline: 800-692-7469. This information will be shared with law enforcement to investigate this suspected criminal activity.